


A Safe Place

by Sasspiria



Series: AU-gust 2020 [5]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alpha Handsome Jack (Borderlands), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Anal Fingering, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Rhys (Borderlands), Class Differences, Courting Rituals, Flirting, Frottage, Gentle Handsome Jack (Borderlands), Gift Giving, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Rhys, Poor Life Choices, Poor Rhys (Borderlands), Romance, Secret Relationship, Shunning, The opposite of a slow burn, Unplanned Pregnancy, ruts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:35:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25858270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasspiria/pseuds/Sasspiria
Summary: When the collapse came, it was sudden. A plague hit that drove certain people insane with the taste for flesh, turning them into psychos. While all at the same time a modern ice age took over Pandora. The survivors settled all over the planet, forming balkanized micro societies. Hyperion is an uptight, bureaucratic society run by Harold Tassiter - an old fashioned alpha who thinks of alphas, betas and omegas should be on a strict caste system. Alphas are meant to protect and lead the pack, omegas are there to bring new children into the world and care for the alphas needs and betas are there to aid alphas and omegas.Jack is an engineer for Hyperion, his job is to go out into the frozen wastelands, scavenge for goods and keep the psychos at bay. He does well at his job, despite the fact that Tassiter seems to have it out for him. Rhys is a young, flighty omega struggling to accept the fact that his place on Helios will always be subservient to whatever alpha is deemed a convienent match.When the two of them meet, it's like a match meeting gunpowder. They fall in love... and it nearly breaks the fragile society that they live in apart and changes it forever.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)
Series: AU-gust 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831921
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	A Safe Place

**Author's Note:**

> idk maybe this is too P O L I T I C A L but i was just thinking about how fucked up it is that we're in both a climate collapse and a pandemic so i thought id contextualize that in a fic. i would prefer a frozen tundra to whats gonna happen under global warming tho lol that sounds cozier than what we got now...this was originally gonna be a one shot but i couldnt fit my concept in one chapter so this is gonna be more of a mid-length fic
> 
> [anyways...come talk to me on twitter!](https://twitter.com/Sasspiria)

Bits of snow fell delicately over Jack’s goggles, blotting out his vision gently and delicately. The alpha frowned and rubbed the snow away with his heavy, gloved hand. Something so beautiful shouldn’t be able to blind him so easily, he thought bitterly. But the white hit his eye in just the wrong way that if he didn’t have his partner Wilhelm here with him to keep him grounded in the blinding light and cold winds all around him.

Speaking of, Wilhelm grabbed him and pulled him into an old warehouse. “Sh-shit.” Jack said, his voice out of breath as he spoke, “Thanks for getting me out of there, Wil.” He added with an entirely grateful look spread across his face.

“No problem.” Wilhelm replied, he was a gruff older man who had had many of his limbs already hacked off and replaced with Hyperion brand cybernetics. Wilhelm looked about the place with interest, “We should see if there’s anything here we can scavenge.” He directed, patting Jack on the back as he walked by.

Jack nodded and followed the larger alpha along. The warehouse was large and well furnished – there were crates and boxes loaded up with things. Jack paused and marked the location of it down on his Echo for further investigation. He was sure there was much more to find here than he and Wilhelm could grab in one visit. Jack was quiet as he made his way through, marking crates to be grabbed by the loader bots that they had brought along with them.

He noted Wilhelm on the other side of the factory, doing the same as Jack did. Jack grinned and saluted the gruff, older man. The two of them made their way around, marking boxes – occasionally opening them up to see if there was anything worth pocketing for themselves. It was an unspoken rule that an Engineer could grab a few treasures here and there, so long as it was small enough to be carried in their pockets or in their pack – it was one of the few perks that the dangerous job granted him. Jack didn’t really work at this job for the perks – there were others that he could have chosen that would have given him better pay and benefits – though he wouldn’t dare deny that he took advantage of them wherever possible.

Jack noticed some glass cases on one side of the hall that he was patrolling down. It peaked his curiosity and he decided to root through it. There was lots of things on display, little knickknacks and toys, some clothes… luxurious things like that. Jack kept rooting through all of the things until something caught his eye.

“Well, would you look at that?” Jack muttered to himself as he eyed the bit of jewelry in the mess of luxuries around it. It was a necklace, with a delicate rose gold chain and a teardrop sapphire pendant – it was beautiful and it would fetch a pretty penny on the market. Or a good gift for someone with a discerning eye. Jack gently coiled up the necklace and put it in his breast pocket, he knew just who to give this to when he got back to Helios.

Then the quiet, relaxed state of things completely vanished as Jack noted Wilhelm stomping past him with his gun out and his finger on the trigger. He looked at the other man with a curious expression for just a moment or two before he heard the shouting and scrambling. Only one word came to mind to describe that horrific noise – psychos.

Jack turned around, right before one of them caught him by surprised. He shouted and jumped back to avoid their attacks. He pulled out one of his guns – a semi-automatic pistol, and shot the creature until it went down with a few shrieking cries about its, “Sweet one!”

Jack rolled his eyes and prepared for a fight. Where one psycho was about, there was bound to be a few more hanging around with them. And Jack was right about that guess, because he was soon surrounded by them. Jack took down a few of them with his gun and the knife at his belt. He nearly got them all down, or so he thought, before the second wave of the assault came up.

“Ah!” Jack groaned as another psycho came barreling towards him. The next thing he knew, the psychotic creature threw its buzz-saw axe at him and sliced into his arm. “Goddammit!” He snapped as he aimed his pistol and shot the psycho in the head, three times and he fell over in a pathetic heap of his own limbs. “Serves you right, you deranged piece of crap.” He sneered down at the corpse. If his mouth wasn’t covered up, he might have spit on the psycho to further enunciate his disgust.

Things went from bad to worse when they noticed more psychos running out of their hiding spots, screaming obscenities at them as they barreled towards them. It was then that the two of them decided to get the hell out of here. It was a miracle that they managed to grab what they could before they were overwhelmed by the psychos and maimed – if not outright killed.

Before Jack got into the truck he cursed under his breath and threw a brick at one of the psychos that had managed to straggle along behind them. He got into the drivers seat of the truck and started up the car, waiting impatiently for his partner to follow along. “You should get that looked at.” Wilhelm commented gruffly as he loaded into the passengers side of the truck. Jack responded with little more than a grunt, his hands tightened around the wheel as he waited for the loaders to grab their cargo. A few minutes later, when everything was said and done, Jack hit the gas and drove off in the direction of the underground city of Helios – where he unfortunately called home.

* * *

There was one thing that excited Jack about being made to go to the medical bay – he would get to see Rhys again. He had been fawning over the pretty omega for months. And why wouldn’t he? Rhys was lovely, he was smart and he was kind. He was everything that Jack wanted in a wife – the only issue was that Rhys seemed to be entirely disinterested in his affections.

Well. Not entirely disinterested. Jack wasn’t an idiot, he wasn’t that sleazy and he certainly had enough sense to take a hint if it were being given. Jack was sure that if Rhys was truly bothered by him he would have gotten the hint and run off a long time ago. There were others that he could turn his attentions to, if that was the case, but it wasn’t. No, it was as though the omega was holding himself back from being honest with Jack and more importantly, from being honest with himself.

He didn’t understand why, Jack liked Rhys – the two of them got along perfectly well with each other and Jack had made it clear, over and over again, that he planned to be a very good alpha whenever he decided to settle down. But Rhys would always hold him at a respectable distance, he would flirt and tease but the moment it seemed like their flirtation would escalate into something more real, something more concrete – he would push Jack away.

If Jack wasn’t already so smitten with the omega and if Rhys wasn’t so charming and lovely then Jack would have gotten sick of him a long time ago. Eventually, Jack arrived at the medical bay and made his presence known. The first thing that he did was take note of the greetings of the other omegas and the way they would laugh at him under their breath – no one took Jack very seriously, they all thought that he was an entirely unserious person.

It was a little annoying to think that people thought he was anything less than an incredibly competent killing machine, but he supposed that being ignored and laughed at kept any unnecessary heat off of him so he would just have to put up with it… for now. Someday, he would be running things on Helios and he would be a much different leader than Tassiter or anyone else. He would turn Hyperion and Helios into something that people would want to be a part of.

As soon as he was noticed by the head nurse, Jack quickly requested that he be seen by Rhys. He wished no one else would see to his wounds – it was not unusual that he would request this, nor was it unusual that any of the engineers would wish to be taken care of by their preferred nurse.

Rhys walked over to the cot that Jack was sitting on, Jack smiled pleasantly at the omega while Rhys returned Jack’s smile with a sour look. “You injured yourself out there, Jack?” He said, his tone flat and weary as though he was disappointed with the Engineer.

“Hello to you too, cupcake!” Jack replied with a big, shit eating grin spread across his face. Rhys did not appreciate that. He pouted and directed Jack to sit down. Jack did as he was told and looked at Rhys with an appreciative glimmer in his eyes. “You look pretty today, kitten, did you do something new with your hair?” He guessed.

Rhys opened his mouth and closed it as he took in the praise that Jack had given him. His fingers nervously ran through his hair and he looked down at the ground, his cheeks becoming pink and flushed. “I…” He mumbled nervously, “Thank you, I guess. But please be professional, Jack.”

“Of course, Rhysie. Whatever you say.” Jack purred, “I’ll be good. You don’t need to spank me. I mean, unless you want to.” He added with a teasing wink. Rhys blushed deeply and looked at Jack with a flustered expression spread across his pretty face.

“Take off your shirt.” Rhys directed in a no nonsense sort of way, pointing at Jack’s chest like it offended him. He was still blushing deeply, his face was red and he refused to make eye contact with Jack more than a second before he looked back down onto the floor.

Jack quirked a brow at that, “Oh?” He exclaimed, like he was shocked that Rhys would have been so forward with him in the place, like he was scandalized by the omega.

Rhys rolled his eyes, “I need to see the wound. Stop teasing me.” He mumbled as Jack obeyed, pulling off all the extra layers of clothing until he was sitting there with his chest bare. Rhys checked everything that he routinely did – like his pulse and blood pressure. Then he moved to check on his injuries. Rhys frowned as he note the multiple cuts, bruises and scars that littered Jacks body – being an Engineer was dangerous work, Rhys reminded himself, but he hadn’t expected Jack to survive through that much continued assault on his body.

Seeing him scarred up like that made Rhys feel some sort of way… he didn’t know how to describe it but it made him shiver as he checked on Jacks’ injuries. Jack had a large gash in the middle of his arm, it was amazing to Rhys that he seemed to be so unbothered by the deep slashes. Rhys applied antiseptic to his wounds and wrapped them up. When he was done with everything Jack fixed him with a curious and interested look. “So what’s the diagnosis?” Jack asked, “Am I gonna die soon? Is it bad?”

“Prognosis.” Rhys corrected. “I’m not a doctor, Jack. I can just… guess.” He explained nervously. “But it looks like you have some nerve damage in your arm

“I could have told you that.” Jack replied with a little smile.

“Well. Still. You need some rest and medication.” Rhys said as he began to frantically write something out onto a computer – Jack assumed it was his medical report – after that he got up and wrote out something on a pad, “Bring this to the pharmacist, they’ll give you what you need.” He promised.

“Oh well if that’s all-” Jack said as he got himself up off of the cot, ready to put his shirts back on and go to a bar for an evening of drinking and forgetting.

“One more thing!” Rhys snapped and Jack sat back down and waited for Rhys to speak. “You should go see Roland, he won’t like it if you avoid him.” He urged Jack. Jack opened his mouth to say something snarky in retort, but Rhys stopped him with little more than a pleading gaze. He knew that the omega was entirely correct in any case. Still, he decided to give Rhys a proper send off first. He moved in to kiss Rhys on the cheek, which gave Rhys a shock.

“I’ll see you later then, kitten.” Jack replied, with a pleased little grin spread across his face. “I’m not done with you yet, I’ve got something for you that you are gonna love.” He promised.

Rhys chuckled, “You really don’t give up do you?” He asked, framing his hand over his mouth as a delighted grin spread across his face.

Jack grinned, “No, no I do not.” He replied in an over confident sort of way, then he walked out and made his way to the soldiers quarters where his bosses and comrades would be spending their days and nights. It didn’t take him long to arrive at the office of his superior, Roland.

Roland was an alright sort of person, Jack didn’t mind him – even if he was a little too strict when it came to his willingness to obey and enforce the rules. “You called for me?” Jack asked, knocking on the frame of the door to get the other mans attentions.

“Hello, John.” Roland said, his tone civil and polite as always. “I heard you got injured on the field, that’s unlike you.” He commented in a blasé sort of way.

“It’s Jack.” He reminded his superior with a look of disdain spread across his face. It seemed like people went out of their way to use the wrong name for him – he blamed Tassiter for this, especially. It was one of the only things that could get under his skin.

Roland just sighed and huffed at the reminder of the slightly older mans chosen name. Jack growled in response to the disrespect and Roland put up his hands in surrender, “Right, I’m sorry. I was notified of that before, but we’ve been busy.” He said, “Look, Jack, just…all that matters right now is that you need to take a break. We can’t have injured soldiers prowling the wasteland on our watch.” He said and then started to write something down – which was never a good sign. “So, I’m assigning you to a twelve week sabbatical, starting tomorrow morning.”

“What?!” Jack snapped, with a look of offense spread across his face as he spoke. “This is ridiculous! I don’t need a vacation.” He said, looking affronted at the other man.

Roland was unimpressed with Jack’s outburst, he looked down at the paperwork on his desk and started to read out the medical report on Jack, “It looks like a psycho took a chunk out of your arm and you’ve got dead nerves now-”

“And?!” Jack interrupted, “That doesn’t mean I can’t fight. I can still fight.” Roland just fixed him with a bored look. So Jack decided to change his approach, “Come on man, don’t do this to me.” He pleaded. “I need this job, I need something to distract me.” ‘Even if it kills me.’ He thought.

Roland just shrugged, “It’s a paid vacation. Anyone else would be glad for a break.” It was true, Tassiter worked everyone too much but especially the Engineers that he had doing patrols to keep the psychos out and to scavenge for whatever they could – there was still a lot of excess resources out in the wastelands and they could only grab a little bit of it at a time.

“Well, I’m not like everyone else. I don’t want a vacation.” He said, though it was clear that Roland was not convinced by his denials.

“I’m not asking. You take a sabbatical willingly or we throw you in a hospital and keep you handcuffed to a cot until you’re better.” He threatened. Jack huffed and turned on his heel, he walked out the door and accepted his fate. Taking a vacation was better than being locked up in a less than comfortable prison.

* * *

After his disastrous meeting with Roland, Jack decided to go and seek out Rhys. He found the omega walking out of the bay – out of his work clothes and dressed up in plain day clothes. Jack smiled in delight at the sight of him – really was lovely, slim and tall with delicate features. Every time that he set his eyes upon the omega, he fell in love with him just a little bit more.

Rhys didn’t notice Jack walking towards him at first, not until they were very close and Jack was making his presence obvious and known. Rhys made a sound of surprise as Jack clapped his hand on the omegas shoulder, “Hey there, Rhysie.” He greeted. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine Jack, thank you.” Rhys replied primly and politely.

“I’m on vacation now.” Jack replied, “Roland’s orders. My injuries are apparently much too grave.” He added, rolling his eyes a bit.

“Oh. Sees like hell for you.” Rhys replied, his lips quirking upwards in amusement – he could imagine Jack being grumpy as he was spending his days at the limited luxuries that Helios offered. The idea of him frowning and grumbling to himself, with his arms over his chest like a petulant child, as he was offered hot chocolate and good food by a waitress made him chuckle.

“It is!” Jack huffed, “And ya know what, I blame you for it. You shouldn’t have written that report out, I never would have gotten in that mess if you didn’t.” He said, mostly in a teasing manner.

Rhys huffed and rolled his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Jack with a disapproving sort of look. “I didn’t want you to go into battle half-cocked when you can’t feel half of your limbs.” He said, “I’m so sorry to inconvenience you with a paid vacation!”

“You are not forgiven.” Jack replied in a faux cold manner. A second later a big grin spread across Jacks face. “Hey, I got you something when I was out there. You wanna see?” He asked. Rhys nodded and eyed the older man in a curious manner as he pulled out a small box. He placed it in Rhys’ hand and directed him to open it.

Rhys did as he was told and he was shocked by the sight of the gift. “It’s… lovely.” Rhys replied, looking at the jewelry with a dazed expression spread across his face. It was like he was transfixed by the extravagance of it. Then he looked at Jack, looked at the expectant, pleased look on the alphas face and his heart sunk. “But I, I cannot accept this. It’s too much.” He said.

Then Rhys attempted to give the necklace back but Jack wouldn’t let him. “No. This is for you, when I saw it I knew that you had to have it.” He said, “It will look beautiful on you.” He added in a complimentary fashion.

“But this is so extravagant!” Rhys replied, his voice was shaky and filled with nerves. “This is something that I would expect from a courting gift.” Jack was quiet then, his back stiffened and he looked like he was embarrassed – uncharacteristically so. “… is it a courting gift?” He asked, his voice so quiet that only the alpha would be able to hear him – and just barely, at that. “Oh my god…” Rhys muttered to himself, then he looked down at the jewelry in his hand, then back at Jack’s impassive face. “Why?” Rhys asked, looking genuinely curious as to why Jack would even bother.

Jack grabbed Rhys hand and dropped the necklace into it, he closed his hand over Rhys’ own and smiled in a very indulgent manner. “Because I like you, Rhys, I like you a lot.” He explained quietly and quickly, “Now hand that to me and turn around, I’ll help you put it on. You can show it off to all your omega friends later, they’ll all be so jealous of you.” He added teasingly.

Rhys let out a little giggle and allowed Jack to put the jewelry on him. He turned around and spread out his arms for the alphas pleasure, “How do I look?” He asked, mostly in a light-hearted, joking manner.

“Like a princess.” Jack responded immediately, then he moved to cup Rhys’ face. “Princess of the apocalypse.” He added, looking at Rhys like he was the loveliest person that he had ever seen in his life.

“I should go.” Rhys said, his fingers absentmindedly playing with the chain of it as he spoke. He moved in to kiss Jack on the cheek, just as he had done to Rhys earlier. “Thank you, Jack.” He said in a low voice. Then he turned around and left Jack on his own. Jack watched Rhys walk off with a pleased little grin spread across his face. Finally, he thought, he was finally getting somewhere with the omega.

* * *

A day or two after his strangely embarrassing – but ultimately delightful – encounter with Rhys, Jack was blessed with a visit from the omega – at his home. Rhys had never come to visit before and Jack was sure that he had never told the omega where he lived but nevertheless. He came gently knocking on the door to his little apartment and when Jack opened the door, he was shocked and delighted to see the omega standing there with a big box in his hands.

“Rhysie!” Jack greeted, “What are you doing all the way down here, pumpkin?” He asked and then, as if he remembered his manners he added. “Would you like to come in?”

Rhys shook his head in dissent, “No. I can’t stay long.” He said, “But I came to give you something. That, um, that necklace was so nice. It’s only right that I give you something in exchange for it.” He said as he pulled out the box in his hands and handed it off to Jack.

Jack frowned. “It was supposed to be a gift.” He explained, eyeing the box that Rhys had handed him warily. “You don’t owe me anything pumpkin. I don’t want you to think that you have to do anything for me.” He added, shaking his head as though he was in disbelief that Rhys would think that.

Rhys flushed and shook his head in response to that. “Oh no, I don’t-” He huffed as he went to collect his thoughts. “Gifts are supposed to be exchanged, aren’t they?” He asked rhetorically, “So I got you gift in return. Well I made it, I don’t really have a lot of money and I can’t very well go out scavenging like you can but-” Rhys huffed, “Never mind about all that, it doesn’t matter. Take my gift.” He babbled, almost speaking too quickly for Jack to process what he was saying.

Jack smiled and opened up the box, to reveal a soft, thick looking blanket made out of soft cotton and what seemed to be Bullymong fur. “This is beautiful.” Jack praised honestly, “I didn’t know you were so good at making things…” He commented.

“Oh. Yes.” Rhys replied, “Well. It’s really nothing more than what I learned in my schooling.” He explained. “You know… cooking, cleaning, needlework. Omega stuff.” He explained, rolling his eyes at the concept of being made to be such a domestic creature. “It’s a bit annoying, but not entirely useless to know, I’ll admit that much.”

Jack hummed, “Well, even if its just stuff you learned in school, it’s beautiful. And this is Bullymong fur.” He added, “That’s real expensive, kitten. Probably worth more than three of those necklaces.” It was only then that he noticed that Rhys was still wearing it. At the mention of the necklace, the omega blushed deeply and his hand flew to his neck to touch the delicate chain of it.

“Oh that was nothing,” Rhys replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I worked at the farm for a few days and they compensated me with milk, eggs and lots of fur. I even made myself this lovely robe where I used some to fleece it with.” He smiled gently. “Anyways, it wasn’t that difficult to make you a new blanket but I know it will be good for you. Useful.”

Jack hummed in agreement, “Bullymong fur warms you right up.” He said. That was why it was usually so expensive. Rhys must have had good connections, or friends in the right places to be able to get it from the source.

“Yeah, which is good because we’re getting into the colder months now and you know how difficult it gets during this time of year.” Rhys explained in a blasé fashion. “You know how bad it gets. Everything gets wetter and chillier and sometimes-”

“The pipes freeze.” They both said at the same time and then broke out into familiar laughter at their shared inconvenience.

“Well anyways,” Rhys said as the laughter died down. “Do you like it?” He asked, suddenly feeling nervous about his gift. “Because if you don’t, I can make you something better or…” He trailed off and shook his head helplessly, “I don’t know, I’ll do whatever you want to do I guess.”

Jack grabbed the blanket and held it against his chest, feeling how soft it was against his skin, “Like it is an understatement, I promise you kitten, I love it.” He said, “I love that you were thinking about me like this. It’s so freaking cute. You are so freaking cute.” He praised easily. “And this is so thoughtful.”

“Oh no, it wasn’t that hard. It was just some simple needlework, actually I think the material did most of the work for me.” Rhys said dismissively, though he was smiling in a proud manner that Jack would like his gift as much as he did. It made him feel like, finally, he was doing something right here.

“Well, I’ll keep it close with me.” Jack replied, “Thank you, Rhysie.” After Rhys left, Jack wrapped the blankets around his body and enjoyed in the warmth of them as he forced himself to go to sleep – he could scent Rhys all over the luxurious blankets. It comforted him to be reminded of the sweet omega.

* * *

It was late in the night and Jack had been laying in his cramped little bed, his fingers brushing nostalgically over an old photograph of a family that he had lost long ago, when he heard a feint yet insistent knocking on the door. Usually Jack ignored his visitors, but whoever it was was very persistent about getting him to open the door. Jack groaned, “Agh, fine, I’m fucking coming!” He snapped at the stranger. They kept on knocking and he let out a huff.

Even as annoyed as he was, even as much as he wished the noise to stop, it still took Jack more than a few minutes to finally get up off of the bed and answer the door. When he opened it he was shocked to see Rhys standing in front of the door,

“Hi.” The omega greeted – Jack noted that there was a slight tremor in his voice. He couldn’t have any idea why. “C-can I, I, I c-come inside, p-please?” He asked, tripping over his words and stuttering as his teeth chattered away.

“Yeah, of course.” Jack replied, gently taking Rhys’ hand as he lead him back in the house. He understood why, Rhys must have been unused to the chill of the apartments. Omegas were kept in the warmest, most comfortable parts of the city. When they presented they would be taken from their families and moved into comfortable houses where they would be raised by schoolmarms and nurses – all of them omega like them, so they would always have some common ground.

They would be taught how to be good omegas, how to properly serve an alpha, how to do domestic work, things like that. They would be able to return to their families when they weren’t being schooled or working, that was just how things were on Helios – everybody had their place. Everybody had a role and a job, a straight track for whom they were meant to be from a very young age.

Alphas were, much like omegas, taken from their families and raised in schools where they would be taught how to fight, how to protect the weaker endotypes, how to court and care for an omega. They would be taught how to enforce the laws and rules of Helios, how to keep everyone else in line.

Betas had the most freedom out of all of the endotypes, they worked with both alphas and omegas, in the hospitals and schools or in the field as soldiers with the alphas. It all depended on what they were particularly suited for. Despite the popular idea that they were forgotten, Jack thought that they were the luckiest out of them all. Freedom was a luxury for most – even who you married and bonded to was often not fully your own choice. Bonding with someone that your family or higher ups disapproved of could end up disastrously. Especially for the omegas, they always got the short end of the stick.

Jack led Rhys to sit by the fireplace, he quickly lit it with a match. Then he grabbed the Bullymong blanket that Rhys had stitched for him and wrapped it around the omegas’ trembling body. “There that’s better isn’t it?” He hummed, gently rubbing the omegas back as he sniffled quietly from the discomfort that the constant chill caused him. “Now, hows about I make you some coffee or tea? Something warm, hm?” He cooed to the omega.

“You’re so kind.” Rhys said sincerely, a tiny smile spread across his face. “I would love some coffee, thank you Jack.” He added, his cheeks pink with pleasure at being cared for so quickly and fully.

“Oh it’s no problem, princess.” Jack soothed, before he walked off to get him a warm mug of coffee as well as some cream and honey – sugar wasn’t a known commodity on Helios, it was just lucky that they had brought honeybees underground with them to pollinate the crops, otherwise they’d have nothing to make their foods sweet. He sat next to Rhys and warmed his hands at the fire, while the omega prepared his own cup of coffee – like a lot of omegas, Rhys liked it very sweet. “So… what did you come all the way here to see me for?” He asked, looking at Rhys with a curious expression.

Rhys was nervous to say at first, “I was thinking… about that day in the medical bay.” He started off.

Jack hummed, “When my forced vacation started?” He guessed, “When I gave you that pretty necklace?” He added, noting that Rhys still wore it around his neck – he could see the gleam of the chain peeking out from his collar.

“Yeah. I just… I wonder why you like me.” Rhys said, “I’m not anyone special. I’m just… Rhys. I don’t understand you, Jack. You could probably have someone… I don’t know. Someone smarter or prettier, funnier or more glamorous?” He huffed, “Why waste your time on me?” He looked at Jack honestly.

Rhys had seen the way that people looked at Jack, the way that people talked about him – despite his bad reputation, he was well regarded among the omegas he worked with and even some of their families. Rhys’ family… did not view Jack so highly, but he knew many that did. And Rhys truly didn’t think that he was worth the trouble.

Jack grabbed Rhys’ hands and squeezed them gently, “Because I don’t want anyone else.” He said, “I want you, only you.” He watched Rhys’ eyes light up with understanding as he spoke. “You’re the loveliest, sweetest, most intelligent and charismatic omega I’ve ever met – I don’t want anyone else.”

Rhys let out a shaky breath as he took all of that in. “I want to do this.” Rhys confessed, his voice quiet as though he was wary of prying ears. He grabbed Jacks’ hands and kissed them gently. “I want to be with you. I want to be your omega, I want you to be my alpha… and I always have, but-”

“It’s a big risk.” Jack guessed. “You’re family wouldn’t approve of you hooking up with some soldier with a bad name and a long dead family, am I right about that?” He wasn’t blaming Rhys for it, he didn’t have much of a choice if his family was so intent on marrying him off. And Jack knew that people didn’t like him, that they whispered about him when they thought he couldn’t hear, that Tassiter specifically had a problem with him.

Rhys looked down like he was ashamed of himself and his situation, “…Yes.” He said, “And I feel terrible for it, I’m sorry.” He said shyly. “And I know it isn’t my choice, but it makes me feel so shallow and cowardly.” He explained. “Even now, I’m entirely sure that it’s a terrible idea.”

He opened his mouth to say more, but the next thing that either of them knew, Rhys had darted forward to kiss the alpha. They held on tight to each other as they kissed, like the world would disintegrate around them if they didn’t hold on as tightly as possible to each other. “That’s one hell of an apology.” Jack hummed in a self-congratulatory manner as they pulled away from the life changing kiss.

Then he moved in to kiss Rhys again, this time in a much more chaste manner. “There’s nothing that would make me happier than to have you as my own.” Jack said as he playfully smoothed back a few loose strands of the omegas hair. In time, Jack would have him in every way possible – mind, body and soul. But for now he would settle with kissing him one more time before they settled down over coffee and stew… and some nice music to set the mood.


End file.
